Power break retarding guard



22, 1938. R. WILTROUT 2,111,714

POWER BREAK RETARDING GUARD Filed Aug. 21, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l fave/2w).- BwhczrcZ/F wdfrouif March 22, 1938. R. E. WILTROUT POWER BREAK RETARDING GUARD 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Aug. 21, 1937 fave 7 J; 2". ffLCfZQ/Tj Z4 Zara u/i Patented Mar. 22 1938 UNITED STATES it wise signor to Prentiss Wabers Products 00., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 2 1',

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved automatic guard for use on breaks, presses and similar devices.

It is an object of this invention to provide a guard for protecting the operator of the break or press and to effectively shield the location where the ram or press engages the work during that portion of the operation when the ram or press is approaching the work whereby the operator'is protected throughout that period when injury could bedonev It is a further object of this invention to provide means for automatically actuating the guard so that it is lowered at the proper time toprotect the operator and so that after the rain or press has engaged the Work to be operated upon, the guard is lifted to clear the work'if bent upwardly and is automatically held in raised position for any predetermined period of time, so that the operator may readjust thework after the ram or press has been lifted.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for adjusting the period during which the guard is raised so that a period may be selected which is best suited for the work being done.

These and other objects not specifically enumerated are contemplated for this invention as will be apparent to one skilled in the art as the following description proceeds of one illustrative example of this invention.

The following description will refer drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of a break or press having a movable ram and equipped with a guard constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the guard and the guard operating mechanism illustrated in Figure 1; V

Figure 3 is a plan view partly in cross section showing a portion of the guard and ram together with the guard operating mechanism shown in Figure 1; and,

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the mechanism shown in Figures 1-3 inclusive.

By referring to the drawings, it will be noted that this invention is illustrated as applied to a break or press comprising a frame It and a ram II. The ram has a working edge IZ-adapted to cooperate with a suitable forming member not shown, for bending or otherwise formingmetal or similar material. The break or press may be of any conventional construction and of course includes the usual mechanism for operating the V to the a part of this invention, the features thereof will not be illustrated or described herein.

As shown in Figure 1-, this invention relates particularly to the guard l 5 which may be of any suitable construction but as herein illustrated, comprises a guard support IS, a Wire screen portion ill and a bottom bar I 8. This guard is preferably equipped with a bearing member at its upper ends so as to be received in the bearing bl'ock 2| and held by a suitable screw 22.. The bearing block 2| may be equipped with a trun nion 24, which extends into an opening in the supporting member of thelever 26 and held therein by means of the thumb screw 21 held by lock nut Hill; The block 25 is preferably secured to the lever 25 through the ihstrumentality of the slot 30 and bolt 3| whereby the position of the guard with respect to the ram may be adjusted in any suitable manner according to the Work to be accomplished by the break or press.

The above described mechanism permits the guard to be adjusted and also removed entirely if necessary, without disturbing the other mechanism.

Mounted on the side of the frame I0 is a pair of brackets which are preferably connected by a U-shaped support 36, formed integrally therewith. These brackets may be attached by any suitable means to the frame l8, such as for instance, by the machine screws 3?. The support 35 is provided with a pivot member it which serves as a pivotal bearing for the lever 2% whereby the lever Zt is free to oscillate on the pivot Ml so as to raise and lower the guard l8.

On the opposite end of the lever 26, there is provided an inclined edge 42 of double thicknesses having a hardened metallic point 43 forming a latching surface for the latch 65. The latch 45 is pivoted as at 46 to a frame part 41 also carried by the U-shaped support 36. The latch is further equipped with a widened'blade 5B for a purpose hereinafter more fully explained.

On the upper surface of the lever 26, an adjustable screw 55 is provided and equipped with a lock nut 56 for maintaining the screw in any adjusted position. 1

Mounted on the side of the ram II is a bracket til which is preferably attached at one end 6| by means of screws 62 and extends toward the rear of the ram as illustrated in the drawings. On the outside of the bracket 60 adjacent the rear end thereof, is a block 64 having a wearing position as to readily engage the head of the screw 55 carried by the lever 26. Furthermore, there is provided a depending arm 66 extending downwardly from the rear end of the bracket 6!! and having an outwardly bent end which carries an adjustable screw 51 having its head in proper position to engage the plate 50 of the latch 45. Screw 61 may be locked in any adjusted position by lock nut 68.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the latch is further equipped with a spring 1!] which is attached to the latch as shown and at its opposite end to a frame part 15 so that the latch is normally urged in a direction to cause its upper end to engage the end 43 of the lever 26. As shown in Figure 2, bracket 15 is rigidly attached to the support 35 and projects forwardly to provide a support for the adjustable screw 80 which has its head underlying a wear plate of the lever 26. This screw may be held in adjusted position by lock nut 8|. The screw is preferably adjusted so as to determine the maximum downward position of the guard.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the adjusting screw 6! may be so adjusted as to determine the maximum lower position of the guard I8 so as to enable the insertion of the work such as sheet metal, thereunder without however, subjecting the operator to any danger of injury from the ram or press. In bending sheet metal the space below the guard may be as little as of an inch.

Furthermore, the screws 55 and 6'! may be adjusted with respect to the motion of the ram or press so that the guard will be automatically raised and lowered at the proper time in the cycle of the operation upon the work being treated. With the parts so adjusted it is apparent that when the ram is at the top of its stroke, that the screw 6'! will trip the latch so the upper end thereof will be free from the end 413 of the lever whereby the guard #8 will be caused to fall by gravity to its lowermost position or until the Wear plate 90 of the lever 25 rests upon the upper end of the screw 88. When the guard is in its lower position, the latch may be moved in a clockwise direction under the influence of spring 10 but it will have no influence upon the guard due to the fact that the end 43 will be too high for the edge of the latch to engage. Thus the guard remains down as the ram or press moves downwardly from its maximum raised position until the wear plate 65 engages the upper end of the screw 55 and causes the guard to be raised. The adjustment of the screw 55 is made so that the guard does not start to raise until the ram has engaged the work or until all opportunity of injury to the operator has passed.

The continued downward movement of the ram will cause the end 43 of the lever to fall below the upper end of the latch 45 whereupon the spring will cause the latch to move in a clockwise direction and engage over the end 43 of the lever, thus locking the guard in its raised position.

When the guard is so raised the work being treated may be repositioned, removed, or otherwise handled by the operator.

When the guard is down, an adjustment may be made as when bending metal which provides a small space below the guard for the insertion of the metal such as sheet metal, into the path of the ram. Immediately upon the ram engaging the metal so as to cause a breaking or bending thereof, the guard is automatically raised so as to give the proper clearance for the end of the metal in its motion occasioned by the bending operation. Thereupon the guard assumes a maximum raised position and is locked in this position util such time as the ram. will again start downwardly on the next cycle of the operation.

From the above description, it will be apparent that this invention accomplishes the objects claimed for it and that it provides a guard which is entirely automatic and which at all times protects the operator from the danger of injury by the ram or press.

It is apparent that the guard of this invention may be of any suitable construction and that when different work is to be done, that the guard may be readily removed and replaced by another guard of different dimensions or construction. The long, straight guard of the type illustrated in the drawings may be used where a bending of the metal is accomplished on one or two edges. However, it is apparent that a guard may be used which extends along more than one side of the ram or press such as a square guard, and furthermore, that a guard may be employed which has removable sections which will permit openings in certain locations to accommodate flanges. The guard bars can be readily released, taken out and replaced and locked in position by merely unlocking the thumb lock nut Hi0 and then releasing the thumb screws 2'! on each end of the bar.

I claim:

1. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard, a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position.

2. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard, a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position, and adjustable means ior determining the maximum lower position of said guard.

3. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard. a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position, the engaging means between said ram and said guard support being adjustable to vary movement of said guard with respect to the movement of said ram.

4. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard, a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved. to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position, the engaging means between said ram and said guard support being adjustable to vary movement of said guard with respect to the movement of said ram, and said means acting to trip said latch being adjustable to cause said guard to fall at a predetermined position of said ram.

5. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard, a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated posi tion, said guard being removable.

6. In combination with a break or press having a movable ram, a guard to shield the edge of said ram when approaching and contacting the work being treated and means for automatically.

lowering and raising said guard comprising means pivotally supporting said guard, a latch for automatically holding said guard when said guard is moved to raised position, means carried by said ram engaging said supporting means for raising said guard after the ram has engaged the work and means acting to trip said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position, said guard being removable and adjustable.

7. In combination with a machine of the character described having a ram or equivalent element, a guard therefor, comprising a member shielding the location where said ram meets the work, a lever pivotally mounting said guard and a spring operated latch engaging the end of said lever to hold said guard in rest position, means carried by said ram for engaging said lever to raise said guard when said ram is moving in a downward direction and other means carried by said ram for tripping said latch when said ram reaches an elevated position.

8. In combination with a device of the character described having a ram or equivalent element, a guard therefor adapted to shield the location where said ram engages the Work operated upon, a lever pivotally supporting said guard having an adjustable abutment carried thereby, a spring pressed latch mounted adjacent the end of said lever, the bracket carried by said ram having a portion adapted to contact an adjustable abutment when said ram is moving in a downward direction and having another portion carrying an adjustable abutment for contacting said latch to release the same from the end of said lever.

9. In combination with a device of the character described having a ram or equivalent element, a guard therefor adapted to shield the location where said rain engages the work operated upon, a lever pivotally supporting said guard having an adjustable abutment carried thereby, a spring pressed latch mounted adjacent the end of said lever, the bracket carried by said ram having a portion adapted to contact an adjustable abutment when said ram is moving in a downward direction and having another portion carrying an adjustable abutment for contacting said latch to release the same from the end of said lever, and detachable and adjustable means securing said guard to said lever.

RICHARD E. WILTROUT. 

